An upbeat assessment of the performance and outlook for Smith & Nephew has been given as it awaits permission to build a huge new base in East Yorkshire.
The FTSE-listed medical equipment manufacturer recorded the finest of increases in revenue, up 0.1 per cent - or £3.4 million - remaining within the £4.3 billion bracket. Sales were up 1.4 per cent in the final quarter for the Hull-founded firm, though margins tightened considerably, from 11.4 per cent to 8.6 per cent, with operating profit down from £490 million to £372 million.
Deepak Nath, chief executive of the firm, which employs almost 800 staff in the city and 20,000 globally, said: "We made good progress during 2022 and ended the year in a much stronger position than we started. We continued to outperform in Sports Medicine, Ear Nose and Throat and Advanced Wound Management and, even though we are early in our work to fix Orthopaedics, performance improved here too.
